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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

2010 Los Angeles Dodgers' Top 30 prospects in review

With others posting their Dodger top prospect lists for 2011 (which I will analyze on Friday), it's high time I reviewed my 2010 Top 30 in preparation for my 2011 Top 30, which will publish on Monday (Jan. 10).

1. Dee Gordon, SS- Gordon regressed a little from his 2009 numbers. He'll never hit for power, but he's still the most exciting prospect in the Dodgers' organization.

2. Ethan Martin, RHP- Martin had one of the worst seasons of any Dodger prospect and he will fall in the 2011 rankings because of it.

3. Chris Withrow, RHP- Withrow forgot how to throw strikes consistently. He should repeat the level until he shows he can get his control figured out.

4. Josh Lindblom, RHP- So far, all the 2010 top prospects have regressed. Lindblom bounced between starter and reliever. Now he's strictly a reliever. Perhaps he can get back on track and be a serviceable guy out of the 'pen. He got rocked at Albuquerque.

5. Aaron Miller, LHP- Miller had a rough showing in Double-A, but was solid in High-A. The 2011 season will determine whether or not he returns to elite prospect status.

7. Ivan DeJesus, 2B- DeJesus played a full season at Triple-A after missing all but four games in 2009. He's the closest Dodger prospect to the majors, but still has question marks.

8. Nathan Eovaldi, RHP- Eovaldi couldn't stay healthy and has yet to develop a consistent third pitch. He looks like he's ticketed for bullpen duty, which might not be a bad thing.

9. Allen Webster, RHP- Finally, the first prospect in my 2010 Top 10 who didn't regress or have a poor season. Webster should make it to Double-A before midseason, if not sooner.

10. Trayvon Robinson, OF- Robinson proved 2009 was no fluke. He didn't break double-digit home runs after 17 in '09, but he increased his walk rate to finish with a .400-plus on-base percentage. He's close to the majors.

13. Garrett Gould, RHP- His velocity alarmingly dropped. His future will be dependent on whether or not he gets back to the low-90s with his fastball.

14. Scott Elbert, LHP- Had a rough 2010 season, but a promising Arizona Fall League performance gives me hope for him as a power lefty out of the 'pen.

15. Xavier Paul, OF- Paul has done all he can at Triple-A with the bat. His glove was supposed to be solid, but he struggled in a few games with the Dodgers in 2010. He might not even be in the organization come Opening Day 2011.

16. Blake Smith, OF- I rated Smith a little higher than most following his '09 performance. He hit for power in 2010 and some are coming around on him.

17. Scott Van Slyke, OF- I wasn't confident in him when I rated him this high last year when he had a .907 OPS at High-A. He regressed in 2010 (.768 OPS) and struggled a lot at Double-A (.650 OPS).

18. Timothy Sexton, RHP- Sexton always profiled better as a reliever in my eyes and after a decent 2009, he had a poor 2010.

19. Pedro Baez, 3B- His bat is nowhere near Major-League ready. He still has the best arm of any infielder in the organization. Could a conversion to pitcher be in his future?

21. J.T. Wise, C- Wise can hit low-level pitching, but he's not a legitimate prospect until he shows he can hit advanced pitchers.

22. Russ Mitchell, 3B/1B- Mitchell had a good season at Triple-A, but some of that was aided by the friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League. He even got a cup of coffee with the Dodgers, hitting two home runs... and not much else.

23. Javy Guerra, RHP- Control, control, control -- that's always been the issue with Guerra. He had a decent season, but nothing to move him up in my 2011 rankings (or keep him in the top 30).

24. Justin Miller, RHP- Miller is a groundball pitcher and threw 77 good innings in 2010. He does need to cut down on the walks. He could get a look in the Dodger 'pen if there are injuries.

25. Austin Gallagher, 3B/1B- After a promising showing at High-A in 2008, Gallagher hasn't progressed and hasn't made it past High-A. His 2010 was better than his 2009, but still not promising overall.

26. Brett Wallach, RHP- He was traded along with Blake DeWitt to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot at the July 31 trade deadline. He threw much better at Great Lakes for the Dodgers than he did at Peoria for the Cubs.

27. Luke May, C- He was traded with Elisaul Pimentel to the Kansas City Royals for Scott Podsednik. I never believed much in May, but he did make it to the majors after putting up an .831 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A, including an .878 mark with Omaha.

28. Kenley Jansen, RHP- Jansen has successfully made the transition to pitcher from catcher, to say the least. He was nasty at all levels in 2010, including the majors where he picked up four saves and posted a 13.7 K/9 rate.

29. Brent Leach, LHP- Leach was tried as a starter for part of the 2010 season with little success. He's headed to Japan to pitch.

30. Tae-Hyeok Nam, 1B- Nam is about as raw as they come. He played in the Arizona League (Rookie Ball) and put up a .243/.341/.372 slash line. His on-base skills are promising, but he's a butcher with the glove.

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The Dodgers signed free agent RHP Tim Redding to a minor-league contract. The only way Redding makes the club out of Spring Training is as a long reliever or if there are numerous injuries.

Still waiting on that left fielder or third baseman.

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Adrian Beltre signed a 5-year, $80 million contract with a sixth-year vesting option for $16 million with the Texas Rangers.

Scott Boras is amazing, seeing as he landed Beltre this deal this late into the off-season. The Rangers' launching pad will do nothing to hurt Beltre's numbers.

While he would have been essentially the perfect fit for the Dodgers, it didn't make sense money-wise. And they were never rumored to have any interest in him.